Archives

September 2
Pierced Ears Day

Too often we underestimate
the power of a touch,
a smile, a kind word,
a listening ear,
an honest compliment,
or the smallest act of caring,
all of which have the potential
to turn a life around.

~ Leo Buscaglia

It is also National Non-Violence Day as well as Farm Animal Day. I humbly suggest we apply the former to the latter.

It is also Baseball Day. I’m a big fan. If you’ve never been to a professional game, I suggest you give it a try. I find it peaceful while simulataneously loudly joyful. The people are a fun loving community. We bring friends and food to share with friends. We are never bored, never disappointed. I can’t tell you who leads at what or what record is held by whom, I just know I am happy when I am at the ball park.

Today we send birthday wishes to Salma Hayek (1968), Mark Harmon (1951), and Christa McAuliffe (1948), and Keanu Reeves (1964).

September 1
Toy Test Day

The simplest toy,
one which even the
youngest child can operate,
is called a grandparent.

~ Sam Levenson

On this day in 1956, Elvis bought his mom a Cadillac and thus the holiday Pink Cadillac Day was born. But do you know the birthday of the Cadillac? 

Another birthday for today, of an inanimate object is, Mary Had a Little Lamb, published this day in 1830.   

On the human front, there are oodles of birthdays today. Here you go: Estee Lauder (1908), Box Car Willie (1931), Conway Twitty (1933), Lily Tomlin (1939), Barry Gibbs (1946), Dr. Phil (1950), and Gloria Estefan (1957). 

Leaf Smiley

Additionally, I’m betting that all the hummingbirds celebrating Hummingbird Day today will NOT be celebrating today’s other holiday, Leaf Blower Day. Only hummingbirds hate leaf blowers more than I! Such noisy intrusion into an otherwise peaceful day.  What will we celebrate next? Root Canal Pain Day? The joy of poison oak? I actually can imagine that last one–nothing is so satisfying as scratching.

Today is also the first day of International Be Enthusiastic Week over on our SEPTEMBER calendar of a month full of Smiley Silliness where all the Smiley pictures and holidays are different than the ones you see here on the website’s Smiley-a-Day.

August 31

Cook and Eat
Outside Day

It is good to realize that if
love and peace can prevail on earth,
and if we can teach our children
to honor nature’s gifts,
the joys and beauties of the
outdoors will be here forever.

~ Jimmy Carter

President Carter, we were all sad to hear of your diagnosis of cancer and glad to hear you appear to have beat it!. I’ll be keeping you in my heart. You are a good, good man.

Today is also known as Picnic Day.  This quote MMS: The wonderful world of home appliances now makes it possible to cook indoors with charcoal and outdoors with gas.~ Bill Vaughan.  BTW, today’s picture is of a toy stove from my classroom.

A favorite author of mine was born on this day in 1908. William Saroyan‘s words have moved me since I first picked up My Name is Aram, many decades ago. Click here to read a moving quote from The Time of Your Life. My son played the newspaper boy in ACT’s production in S.F., way back more than a decade ago.

Other birthdays of note include Richard Gere (1949), Maria Montessori (1870), and Van Morrison (1945).

*Made Me Smile

August 30

Take the Stairs Day

The vision must be
followed by the venture.
It is not enough to
stare up the steps,
we must step up the stairs.

~ Vance Havner

Don’t be the person who says, “I thought of that,” when you see someone’s successful accomplishment. Be the person who has the idea and acts to make it so! ~Ruth Kaiser

Today is also Campfire Day over on our AUGUST calendar of a month full of Smiley Silliness. It follows that it is also Roasted Marshmallow Day. Who doesn’t love a campfire? But the burnt bulbs of atomically hot sugar on a dirty stick, I can do without. And goodness no, please don’t ruin a perfectly good Hershey bar, soiling it with a burnt marshmallow all in the name of a s’more, honored earlier this month.

Maybe Frankenstein liked the monsterous roasted marshmallows. The author of Frankenstein, Mary Shelley was born this day in 1797.

A couple of TV stars from when I was a kid were born of this day: Fred MacMurray (1908) and Shirley Boothe (1898). Do know them? Check with You Tube. Or better yet, ask an old person. We do know so, so much.

August 29

Birthday of
the Zipper

No uplifting zipper quotes.
No not-naughty zipper jokes.
So here’s a favorite song with ZIP!

Today is also Eat Healthy Day over on our AUGUST calendar of a month full of Smiley Silliness. Maybe that one should be everyday! Enjoy one of the zillions of Strawberry Smileys I’ve found.

This day also celebrates the publication of the book Mary Poppins in 1934. Is there anyone reading this who has not seen the movie? I’m betting not.

August 14, 2014. Final event at Candlestick Park. Paul McCartney!!

And on this day in 1969, on Michael Jackson‘s 11th birthday, The Beatles played their last concert at Candlestick Park in San Francisco. In 2014, the very last event ever occurred at Candlestick Park. It was Paul McCartney. I was there. It was amazing. Tears and singing along! So grateful I had the chance! If you doubt this photo came from that night, simply because I’m wearing a ski coat in August, please remember SF in August is chilly!

For this, the 50th anniversary of the Beatles’ last show, my husband and I are putting on an event displaying never before seen photos from that night! Read all about it! Better yet, join us in SF!

Let’s not forget to send a happy birthday wish out to good old Michael Jackson (1958), Ingrid Bergman (1915), and Lea Michele (1986). And don’t forget the zipper. Today is the birthday of the zipper–patented this day in 1893.

August 28

Be Comfortable
in Your Own Skin Day

I have a dream that
my four little children
will one day live in a nation
where they will not be judged
by the color of their skin
but by the content of their character.

~ Martin Luther King, Jr.

It’s also Bow Tie Day. Dopey gal that I am, I just had to double check on Google if there was any chance that Martin Luther King wore a bow tie that day. Nope. Not his style.

Today is also Donald O’Connor‘s Birthday over on our AUGUST calendar of a month full of Smiley Silliness. Donald O’Connor sang and danced the amazing number “Make ‘Em Laugh” in a lovely movie called “Singing in the Rain.” So joyful!  And yes, that is my second reference to Singing in the Rain this week. I do love the sentiments in the movie and the song.

For those who love cherries, it’s Cherry Turn Over Day. Not being a cherry lover I’ll turn down the turn over. This reminds me of how my daughter used to call anything with cherry in it, “tylenol flavored.” Man, did that girl love tylenol. At the ice cream counter she once asked the server if they had tylenol ice cream. My little Hillary was (and still is) such a cutie-patiitie!

Today we send birthday wishes to Jack Black and Jason Priestley both born on this day in 1969. And not to give too much attention to the peeps of the silver screen, how about we say happy birthday to Poet Laureate Rita Dove (1952).

August 27
Tarzan Day

We are all ready to be
savage in some cause.
The difference between
a good man and a bad one
is the choice of the cause.

~ William James

Tarzan first appeared as “Tarzan of the Apes” in a magazine on this day in 1912. Today’s Smiley pic, Viney Tree Smiley is in honor of his vine swinging ways!

It’s Kiss ME Day over on our AUGUST calendar of a month full of Smiley Silliness. I’m taking that to mean M-E, me! Let the kissing of ME commence. I am ready!

On a more serious note, it is also Global Forgiveness Day. With all that is going on around the globe, we need this forgiving perspective more than ever. 

Home Plate Smiley

My all time favorite baseball player, Ricky Henderson broke the record for stolen bases in a single season on this day in 1982 and I was there! I still have the T-shirt I bought to commemorate that day. That day he broke the record of 119 and went on to steal 130 that year–a record that still stands with no one even coming close.

Today is also Mother Teresa‘s birthday (1910) and Pee Wee Herman‘s birthday (1952), hmmm…. twins separated at birth? They both want people to be kind and happy and gentle and generous. I am a big fan of them both!

August 26

Back to School Day

Friendship… is not
something you learn in school.
But if you haven’t learned
the meaning of friendship,
you really haven’t learned anything.

~ Muhammad Ali

I think we should be teaching friendship! If I were Boss of the World, every school would have a curriculum to teach optimism, gratitude, and how to be a kind friend.
~Ruth Kaiser, the Smiley Lady.

It’s also Toilet Paper Appreciation Day over on our AUGUST calendar of a month full of Smiley Silliness. Even the optimist knows to check to see if there’s TP before sitting down. But if they have to ask a friend to bring them a roll, they are grateful.

Today we also celebrate Make Your Own Luck Day. I am a big believer in this idea. Luck doesn’t just happen. Opportunities come along, and it’s not the lucky that grab the chance–it’s the prepared, the willing, the enthusiastic, the hard working, the committed, that take the ball and run with it!

It is also Equality Day. Actually, it’s Women’s Equality Day, but since women are equal, they don’t need a day to say they are. And since women are equal, let’s just call it Equality for All Day!! Pause to remember that the 19th Ammendment to the US Constitution was ratified on this day in 1920.

Planning to watch a MLB game from your couch later today? Well, on this day in 1939 the first televised baseball game was enjoyed from couches all over America.

August 25
Neighborhood  Day

A good laugh,
is sunshine
in the house.

William Makepeace Thackeray

A Smiley Bush like in today’s photo, is sure to brighten any neighborhood! And neighborhoods are a wonderful place to find Smileys formed on the sides of homes.

Today is also Kiss and Make Up Day. Do you have a fence that needs mending? A burnt bridge to rebuild? A neighbor with whom you could be on better terms? Go on. It’ll be easier than you imagine–and better, too.

Then you can celebrate the mended relationship, with a banana split in honor of Banana Split Day or perhaps a waffle for Waffle Day. How about a waffle shaped like a keyboard for Waffle Day. I’ve been trying cooking all kinds of things in a waffle iron. So far hash browns, cookies, risotto, and grill cheese sandwiches have all turned out marvelously crispy!

August 24
Go to the
Beach Day

“When anxious, uneasy and
bad thoughts come, I go to the sea,
and the sea drowns them out
with its great wide sounds,
cleanses me with its noise,
and imposes a rhythm upon
everything in me that is
bewildered and confused.”

~ Rainer Maria Rilke

Hopefully the clouds will cooperate so we can view the skies tonight for Shooting Star Night. And BTW, the beach is a great place to see shooting stars, just sayin’.

Avocado Smiley for yummy guacamole!

It’s also Nachos Day. Mmmm, mmmm, my favorite meal makes this my favorite day! Lots of peppers, guacamole and grilled veggies! Yum!

Finish off those nachos, and how about a Peach Pie. That’s right it’s Peach Pie Day. But wait, didn’t we eat them all yesterday and the day before, when it was Peach Day?!

Back in the year 79, Mount Vesuvius erupted covering the town of Pompeii. Now there’s a place that’d be interesting to visit!